The New Republic is still in its infancy, inexperienced and idealist. We would be happy to join you, for you are powerful and have deep roots in history—Queen UnuThul, to Grand Admiral Thrawn

The annexation of the Utegetu Nebula took place in 8 ABY, after the start of the Thrawn campaign. It saw the Killik Colony pass under Imperial control, mainly due to previous sabotage actions and the Killiks' distrust of the New Republic.

The various sabotage actions by multiple powers and the disastrous performance of the Killik and New Republic leadership during the Imperial raid convinced Queen UnuThul that the New Republic does not ensure their survival, and began to seek another faction which would be capable of defending them.

Grand Admiral Thrawn arrived with ten Imperial-class Star Destroyers to Tenupe, the capital of the nebula. UnuThul, realizing that he was a person worthy of being the defender of the Killiks traveled to the Grand Admiral's flagship, the Chimaera and they discussed the terms of Killik membership in the Empire in a mere half hour. Shortly after, Imperial authorities arrived and UnuThul publicly declared—to a cheering crowd—that they were now part of the Empire of the Hand. A large number of Killiks joined the Imperial Army and Navy as engineers, designers or workers because of their skills.